[Z06] Electrical meltdown
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 67
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From: Wilmington NC
Electrical meltdown
Started to take the Z out the other day. Everything seemed normal until I hit the ignition. Starter made about a half turn and everything stopped. There was a whirring sound coming from under the hood and later some clicking from somewhere near the passenger door. The dash lights ranged from normal to dim to nothing. The interior lights were out at first and then came back to normal until I attempted to start the car again. Then they also went out. The starter makes no attempt to turn over now. Some of the accessories are getting reduced voltage. About the only thing that still works is the remote key fob. Battery seems to be fine. Anyone have any ideas? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Drifting
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,822
Likes: 2
From: San Clemente CA
Originally Posted by Three Zs
Started to take the Z out the other day. Everything seemed normal until I hit the ignition. Starter made about a half turn and everything stopped. There was a whirring sound coming from under the hood and later some clicking from somewhere near the passenger door. The dash lights ranged from normal to dim to nothing. The interior lights were out at first and then came back to normal until I attempted to start the car again. Then they also went out. The starter makes no attempt to turn over now. Some of the accessories are getting reduced voltage. About the only thing that still works is the remote key fob. Battery seems to be fine. Anyone have any ideas? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 67
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From: Wilmington NC
Originally Posted by TheDVS1
Sure sounds like a bad battery to me. As soon as you're putting a load on the battery it's giving up the ghost. Your interior lights and accessories will seem fine until you put a real load on the electrical system by hitting the key. How old is the battery?
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 67
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From: Wilmington NC
Well, this is embarrassing.... Turns out it is the battery. Just proves the old axiom "check the simplest things first". So I'm red-faced on one hand and relieved on the other that one of those high priced modules wasn't toasted. Thanks for pointing me in the obvious direction.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 56,377
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Originally Posted by Three Zs
Three years old. If it is the battery it went without any warning and usually the starter motor will at least attempt to turn over with a weak battery. However, you may be right and to eliminate the battery as a problem, I'll put a starter battery on it in the morning and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Drifting
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,822
Likes: 2
From: San Clemente CA
Originally Posted by Three Zs
Well, this is embarrassing.... Turns out it is the battery. Just proves the old axiom "check the simplest things first". So I'm red-faced on one hand and relieved on the other that one of those high priced modules wasn't toasted. Thanks for pointing me in the obvious direction.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,083
Likes: 0
From: I'm not quite middle aged and I only own one gold chain! San Jose CA
I have heard many guys talk about having this happen to them. Seems like it is not "if" your battery is going to go bad it is "when" your battery is going to go bad. It never happens at a good time, that's for sure. I've only had my car for a year and have 9600 miles on it, but I am tempted to just go get the Optima and get it over with instead of waiting for the inevitable.
Glad it was an easy fix for you at least.
Glad it was an easy fix for you at least.
